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Why hasn't Sikhi spread? St Georges uni Q&A #1

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    History - obviously everything
    has a reason
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    History is one of the major reasons.
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    Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj
    they came with a message.
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    They spread it.
    There was no sikhi before them.
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    There were people that were talking
    philosophies that were similar to this.
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    But it wasn't a holistic approach like
    Guru Ji bought.
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    They spread it.
    All the Gurus’ spread it.
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    Guru Amar Das Ji set up 150 preachers -
    52 were women.
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    They sent women out
    to preach Sikhi.
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    Their daughters were preachers.
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    So the Gurus are very big preachers.
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    Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji went out preaching to
    Assam - places far far away from Central
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    Look at Patna Sahib, it's not near Punjab.
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    Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji set that up
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    as a place for loads for Sikhs
    at Patna Sahib
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    Hazur Sahib - Guru Gobind Singh Ji
    set that up around that area.
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    So, the Guru’s all travelled.
    They went out spreading Sikhi.
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    And they sent people out to Afghanistan
    and places like that to spread Sikhi.
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    Now, what’s happened since 1745,
    The 1740s, is -
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    Baba Deep Singh Ji for example, they
    wrote out Guru Granth Sahib Ji in Arabic.
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    They sent It out -
    they were keen to preach Sikhi.
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    Sikhs didn’t used to say we don’t preach.
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    Now what’s happened is, most of us say
    "we don’t preach”.
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    Do you agree with that?
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    Nowadays most Sikhs say
    “we don’t preach”.
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    Who do you think told us
    we don’t preach?
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    Our Gurus’ never said it.
    The Guru’s actually went out to preach.
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    They travelled everywhere.
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    Guru Ji went to Sri Lanka.
    They went all over.
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    So who told us that we don’t preach?
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    The British.
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    The British came to Punjab.
    Took over the Punjab Kingdom in 1850s.
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    So from 1745, from the Guru’s time -
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    what you see from 1708 is the Sikhs’
    being persecuted.
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    And even when they’re persecuted
    they’re still bringing it up.
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    So for the next 100 years -
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    Let’s say you go upto from 1400s to 1700.
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    It’s the Guru Period.
    Sikhi is growing, it’s great.
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    For the next 100 years upto 1800
    you have got persecution.
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    Sikhs being killed everywhere.
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    1900s - what you’ve got is the
    British coming over in the
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    In the 1850s, they took over
    and what did they do?
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    They started to destroy Sikhi.
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    They started to kill all the Nihang Singhs
    - as many as they could.
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    That believed in the
    ShastarDhari Khalsa way.
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    They killed a lot of them.
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    They fought against them and
    they killed them.
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    Also, they started to preach Christianity.
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    And they told us lot -
    like a Jedi mind trick
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    Have you seen Star Wars?
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    Where he goes
    “these are not the droids you seek”.
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    They go
    “these are not the droids that we seek”.
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    It's a Jedi mind trick. They say
    “you guys, don’t preach your religion”.
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    And we went
    "we don't preach our religion”.
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    And that was it.
    It became a Punjabi religion.
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    It no longer became an Indian religion,
    spreading out in the whole of India.
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    It became a Punjabi religion.
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    The British made us into Punjabis.
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    They moved us away from Sikhi
    into Punjabis.
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    They said you guys all live in Punjab,
    you guys have got your geography.
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    Because the British were very good
    at categorizing what people were
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    And then you got votes based upon who
    you were.
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    So they were like "you guys are Hindus,
    you guys are Sikhs"
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    You don’t want to spread out here -
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    and take over the Hindus
    or become bigger.
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    You stay where you are - Punjab.
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    Basically the British told us
    we don’t preach.
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    So one of the biggest things -
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    For the last, since 1850 when they
    took over Ranjit Singh's Raj (Rule),
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    then they said
    "you guys join the British army"
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    Become Sikhs in the Army, so now
    we got institutionalised.
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    Took Amrit but we follow the British way.
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    The British said "you guys are warriors”
    we said “yes we’re warriors”.
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    We had Mahapurkhs and Sanths,
    but they said you guys are warrior race,
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    so we started believing
    we're a warrior race.
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    But we’re not a race.
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    We’re a Dharam.
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    Punjabis might be a race.
    We are not a race.
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    We are people that follow the philosophy
    of Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj.
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    The teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
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    We are a Chela.
    We are Chele of the Guru.
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    We are not a race.
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    We have characteristics, we have a culture
    that comes from our Gurus.
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    But anybody can join -
    you can’t change a race can you?
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    You can now if you become a Sikh.
    It’s a weird system.
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    Anyway the point is that Sikhi was
    constricted by them
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    and limited off to one place.
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    Then since India Independence
    you've seen what's happened in Punjab.
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    The race thinking was stuck there,
    people thought we’re Punjabis.
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    And then Indian people when they
    got independence,
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    they messed the Sikhs over.
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    Took away the land and then split Punjab.
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    Punjab used to look a bit
    like a butterfly.
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    Now guess how much of it remains.
    First they chopped off
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    First they chopped off two wings.
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    Then from this wing they chopped off
    here and there.
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    Now you got this much -
    like the left hand side.
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    Even Lahore, the Capital of the Sikh
    Kingdom in Ranjit Singh’s time -
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    is now in Pakistan.
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    Ranjit Singh’s Raj was in Lahore.
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    Amritsar was a Spiritual Capital for us.
    It was the Sikh Capital.
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    But not the Political Kingdom of the Raj.
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    So they're basically massively split and
    since 1984 you’ve seen what’s happened.
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    Sikhs are basically - they’re trying to
    kill Sikhi off in Punjab.
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    So firstly we've had external enemies
    suppressing us.
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    Also internally our thinking has changed.
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    They changed our thinking to not think
    that we are an expansionist religion.
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    But Guru Sahib was very expansionist.
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    You don't appoint 150 preacher if you
    don’t intend to expand.
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    You don’t send Bhai Gunda Ji to
    Afghanistan to preach,
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    if you don't want to bring in people from
    Afghanistan into Sikhi.
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    Guru Ji did that.
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    Look around us, what are we doing?
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    Us British Sikhs -
    the bastion of Sikhi in the world.
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    We are really doing great stuff here
    in our Gurudware, aren’t we?
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    The youth don't understand Sikhi.
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    The committees are too involved
    in fighting amongst themselves.
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    Every Gurudwara is trying to build
    an even bigger Gurudwara,
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    rather than teach classes.
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    You can go to a Gurudwara nowadays
    and you will have amazing halls
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    and amazing glass windows,
    amazing wooden architecture.
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    You can't find a classroom.
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    You're like "hold on,
    you say Guru is my teacher"
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    “You say a Sikh is a student"
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    Where’s the classes?
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    How many of you can go
    to your local Gurudwara
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    and sign up for a course on Sikhi?
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    Say a 6 week course, 12 week course -
    can you sign up for one?
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    How many of you think you can
    sign up for one of those in a mosque?
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    How many institutions do you think
    exist in this country
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    to teach Islam to newcomers?
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    Quite a lot.
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    How many exist to teach
    Sikhi to a newcomer?
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    Very little. Nothing.
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    People are white and Sikh and
    people are black who are Sikh -
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    but they are only through luck.
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    None of them ever got approached by
    someone and said " you should be a Sikh”.
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    “You got the right mentality"
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    We never approach them.
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    Maharaaj goes around traveling,
    looking for Gurmukhs.
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    We are scared to follow Sikhi ourselves.
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    We're not those kind of people that walk
    around saying the praise of our Doctor.
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    If you go to a doctor in the world
    and he fixes you,
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    100% if you meet somebody else who’s
    got the same disease as you,
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    you're going to tell that person
    go to that doctor, aren’t you?
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    Of course you will.
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    We don't believe in our doctor
    all the time.
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    We don't follow our doctor.
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    We find it very hard to go and tell
    other people to follow this doctor.
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    But if we really cared about that person
    and they are diseased and they have Ego.
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    What’s the solution then?
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    You will earn the Guru's words,
    the Guru’s Bani.
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    What does it mean to earn Bani?
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    It means to live it.
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    You’ve got the instructions,
    now you follow them.
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    So we don't really believe in
    spreading this either.
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    In this class, most of you guys know
    about Dasam Duar?
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    Obviously who are you to blame?
    Who’s to blame?
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    Our leadership.
    our leaders who say that
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    Our leaders who say that "we are
    the caretakers of the Guru's school."
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    Because the Guru is a teacher
    so it must be a school.
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    They said we’re the school caretakers.
    Guess who runs the school?
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    Not a head teacher.
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    The only person worthy of running a school
    is a head teacher.
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    You agree with me?
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    Would you put the administrators
    in charge of a school? No.
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    Who should run a school?
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    Somebody who's worked on the ground
    all the way up to become a head teacher.
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    Who is concerned about teaching.
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    How many people in their Gurudwara have
    seen their Pardhaans talk about Sikhi?
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    How many Pardhaans, on a regular basis,
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    come into the Gurudwara and
    teach Sikhi to the Sangat?
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    How many of them are involved in running
    charities or Seva projects?
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    So how come they run the Gurudware?
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    The dministrators have got into the
    Gurudwara and started running Gurudware.
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    Admin people.
    What do you think a Secretary is?
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    Admin person.
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    President is not a president.
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    He's the main person who runs all
    the admin people.
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    The real people who run a Gurudwara,
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    are the people that are either teaching
    Kirtan or singing Kirtan
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    or reading the Paath, explaining the Paath.
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    Or making the Langar, or doing all the
    dishes and cleaning and washing up.
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    They're the people that make the
    Gurudwara run.
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    These people that sit up in an office,
    they don't make the Gurudwara run.
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    They’re the admin people.
    Now the admin people run the Gurudwara.
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    So we got "the tail wagging the dog”.
    You heard that saying?
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    They’re supposed to be wagged by the dog
    but unfortunately they’re wagging the dog.
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    They tell the Bhatti - who knows the Paath
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    This guy knows more Bani than all those
    people sitting on the table,
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    and he’s bringing them cups of tea.
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    You can see what's happening now.
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    So it’s our fault as well.
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    These Gurudware are completely messed up.
    We're not doing anything ourselves.
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    And it's on you guys.
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    I’m sorry to put it on you
    because I see it's upon me as well.
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    I don't see myself as
    different from you guys.
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    The only difference me and you is
    about 10 years - that's nothing really
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    I see you guys having the same
    responsibility that I have.
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    Learn some of this knowledge.
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    I didn't get this from magic.
    It isn't that hard.
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    13 years ago I didn't know the
    Gurmukhi alphabet.
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    I didn't understand a single bit
    of Bani.
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    13 years from now you could be
    teaching people across the globe as well.
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    Sikhi is easy to follow and live.
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    It’s difficult and simple as well,
    it's both.
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    It can't be classified.
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    It's on your responsibility as well.
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    If you see a problem, solve it.
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    We saw a problem - no one knew what
    Sikhi was so we made those leaflets.
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    Singh sitting here did all the
    graphic design and made it.
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    We could have put anything in there,
    nothing’s complicated in there.
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    One God. One human race.
    You can connect to God.
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    Guru Nanak Dev ji traveled.
    Guru Arjan Dev Ji made Harmandir Sahib.
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    Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji made a mosque.
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    Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji gave Shaheedi.
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    That’s just basics and that's why
    it’s called Basics of Sikhi.
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    People don't know the basics.
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    We have Langar, Raag Kirtan,
    Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
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    Job done.
    Go on YouTube and learn more.
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    You see a problem in this
    House of Guru Nanak Dev Ji -
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    try to fix the problem.
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    Don’t just say
    "how come Sikhi has not spread”
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    Say “how can I spread Sikhi”.
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    It's not that hard.
    People buy Sikhi.
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    We’ve had people become Sikhs.
    Would you believe it - white and black people.
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    Would you believe it - white and black people.
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    They started watching these videos and
    they go “I want to be a Sikh.”
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    “How do I become a Sikh?”
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    We had people message us and say
    "I want to be a Sikh."
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    I read that email out to you recently.
    Some guy from California - he emailed us.
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    He goes “I watch your videos,
    I want to be a Sikh."
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    He said: “It was amazing. It changed my life."
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    Now I didn't change his life, did I.
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    Who am I to change anybody’s life?
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    He changed my life.
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    I'm plugging the doctor.
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    They say
    "I want to have that doctor as well”.
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    That is what’s happening here.
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    People are coming and saying
    “I want that guy as my doctor as well"
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    "I think he can fix me."
    And he can fix them.
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    But this is just one channel.
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    How many channels do you think exist
    to preach Islam?
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    How many channels do you think exist
    to preach Christianity?
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    The major religions.
    Let’s look at the major religions.
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    How many of the Buddhists travel
    around the world meeting the top leaders?
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    Buddhist is a big religion as well.
    They’ve got a billion of them.
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    How many thousand years did it take them?
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    We’ve only been around for 500 years.
    Most of that has been under conflict.
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    Where we are now - we're not teaching the
    meaning of it to most people.
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    Our Gurudware are run by the wrong people.
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    If we change that around in
    the next 100 years, Sikhi would fly.
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    Change the leadership into people that
    follow Sikhi.
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    Make the focus about spreading and
    explaining Sikhi to everybody else -
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    like we do Street Parchar.
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    Have you seen those videos
    about Street Parchar?
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    Do that, in every city, every town.
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    Have open days, bring people in,
    invite them, teach them the meanings.
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    Explain it simply like this.
  • 15:08 - 15:12
    This is your disease.
    This is the problem you’re suffering.
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    The real root cause is this “Ego”.
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    You will be able to solve this
    if you connect to God.
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    You have this on top of your head
    (Dasam Daur) - let’s meditate.
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    Why don't you do some Seva?
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    Go serve some food to people.
    You will feel better about yourself.
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    You feel good if you do Seva.
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    They do this and they go
    “Sikhi really works."
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    I feel connected to God.
    I feel like I'm a better person.
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    I'm starting to lose my connection and
    when I say “Vaheguru”, I feel great.
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    I feel Bliss.
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    The Khalsa won’t be oppressed.
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    It won’t be the bottom of someone's shoe
    ,like it is now.
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    It will rule the world.
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    Who will rule?
    The Khalsa.
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    But do we even know what the Khalsa is?
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    This is what the Khalsa starts off with.
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    A diseased person that wants to get better
    goes to the guru and says sort me out.
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    Make me like you .
    Make me free of this disease.
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    Save me.
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    It's history.
    It's our problem.
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    The solution is there as well,
    how to solve it - it’s all there.
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    [Waheguru]
Title:
Why hasn't Sikhi spread? St Georges uni Q&A #1
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Video Language:
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Duration:
16:58

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